Additional Information from ATPE

First elected to the Texas House in 2002.

*Rep. Bohac is not seeking re-election in 2020.

Bohac was endorsed in the 2016 Republican primary election by the Texas Home School Coalition, which supports using public funds for private and home-schools, giving private and home-schooled students greater access to public education services, and limiting state oversight of private and home schools.

Voting Record

Voted for a major school finance and reform bill providing $6.5 billion in increased funding for public education and $5 billion for property tax relief.

House Bill 3 by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Kingwood), 86th Legislature, Regular Session. On April 3, 2019, the House voted to approve the bill on third reading. (Record vote #159. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Voted: Yes

House Vote #2 - 2019: RETIREMENT (Date Voted: 12/31/1969)

Voted for an ATPE-supported educator retirement bill making the TRS pension fund sound by increasing contribution rates and authorizing a one-time 13th check for retirees.

Senate Bill 12 by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), 86th Legislature, Regular Session. On April 25, 2019, the House voted to approve the bill on third reading. (Record vote #661. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Voted: Yes

House Vote #3 - 2019: SCHOOL SAFETY (Date Voted: 12/31/1969)

Voted for an ATPE-supported school safety bill offering funding to implement school safety improvements and provide mental health resources.

Senate Bill 11 by Sen. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood), 86th Legislature, Regular Session. On May 22, 2019, the House voted to approve the bill on third reading. (Record vote #1610. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Voted: Yes

House Vote #4 - 2019: SCHOOL SAFETY (Date Voted: 12/31/1969)

Voted for a floor amendment to Senate Bill 11 requiring the state to identify regional resources that schools can use to address students' mental health needs. The amendment was based on Rep. Allison's HB 4414, a bill supported by ATPE.

House Floor Amendment #8 by Rep. Steve Allison (R-San Antonio) to Senate Bill 11 by Sen. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood), 86th Legislature, Regular Session. During the House floor debate on this school safety bill, Rep. Allison offered Floor Amendment #8 to improve mental health resources in schools. The amendment passed on May 21, 2019. (Record vote #1579. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) Procedural note: This amendment was later reconsidered and amended before being adopted by the House again. (Record vote #1600. View an official record of that subsequent vote in the House journal.)

Voted: Yes

House Vote #5 - 2019: CLASS SIZES (Date Voted: 12/31/1969)

Voted against a bill that would have weakened the 22:1 cap on elementary school class sizes. ATPE opposed the bill.

House Bill 1133 by Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford), 86th Legislature, Regular Session. On May 9, 2019, the House voted to defeat the bill on second reading. (Record vote #1244. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Voted: No

House Vote #6 - 2019: EDUCATOR QUALITY (Date Voted: 12/31/1969)

Was marked absent during the vote on an ATPE-supported bill that would have funded and strengthened mentoring programs for teachers. Bohac entered comments into the House journal after the vote indicating that he intended to vote for the bill.

House Bill 102 by Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio), 86th Legislature, Regular Session. On April 9, 2019, the House voted to approve the bill on third reading. (Record vote #197. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) HB 102 did not get heard by the Senate, but its language was incorporated into HB 3 that did pass and become law.

Voted: Yes

House Vote #7 - 2019: EDUCATOR QUALITY (Date Voted: 12/31/1969)

Was absent for the vote on a bill to require certain school districts to assign properly certified teachers to students in elementary grades and prevent students from being taught by first-year teachers in consecutive years. Bohac entered comments into the House journal after the vote indicating that he intended to vote for the bill. HB 1276 would have applied to school districts with at least 5,000 students, unless the district was exempted under the District of Innovation (DOI) law or received a hardship waiver from the commissioner of education. The bill was designed to prevent students from being assigned for two consecutive school years to teachers with less than one year of experience or teachers not certified in the subject being taught as part of the foundation curriculum. Exceptions were provided for new transfer students and students whose parent or guardian consents to the placement. ATPE supported the bill.

House Bill 1276 by Rep. Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston), 86th Legislature, Regular Session. On April 25, 2019, the House voted to approve the bill on third reading. (Record vote #746. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The bill ultimately died after it did not get heard in the Senate.

Voted:

House Vote #8 - 2019: CHARTER SCHOOLS (Date Voted: 12/31/1969)

Voted against a floor amendment to House Bill 3 to increase the transparency and efficiency of charter schools by requiring them to undergo an audit of their fiscal management prior to expanding or opening new campuses and to share the audit results on their website. ATPE supported the amendment.

House Floor Amendment #15 by Rep. Ernest Bailes (R-Shepherd) to House Bill 3 by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Kingwood), 86th Legislature, Regular Session. During the House floor debate on the school finance bill, Rep. Bailes offered Floor Amendment #15 on charter school transparency and efficiency. The amendment passed on April 3, 2019. (Record vote #153. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The Senate later stripped the amendment out of the bill.

Voted: No

House Vote #9 - 2019: POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT (Date Voted: 12/31/1969)

Voted for a bill that would prohibit school districts and other local governmental entities from funding legislative advocacy efforts or paying membership dues to organizations that engage in legislative advocacy.

Senate Bill 29 by Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), 86th Legislature, Regular Session. On May 20, 2019, the House voted to defeat the bill on third reading. (Record vote #1519. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Senate Bill 1 by Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. A conference committee was appointed to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of this primary budget bill. On a motion by Rep. John Zerwas (R-Fulshear), the House voted to adopt the conference committee report and approve the bill for final passage on May 27, 2017. (Record vote #1945. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Supported a school finance bill that offered $1.5 billion in additional public school funding. Voted for HB 21, which would have increased the basic and bilingual allotments, added a new allotment for students with dyslexia, and funded hardship grants for certain districts losing money due to the expiration of ASATR (Additional State Aid for Tax Reduction). ATPE supported this bill.

House Bill 21 by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Kingwood), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. The House voted to approve the bill on third reading on April 20, 2017. (Record vote #328. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) This bill did not ultimately pass during the regular session.

Supported additional education funding. Voted for a bill to revise the state's school finance system, add $1.8 billion in new funding for public education, and use the state's rainy day fund to shore up the education budget. ATPE supported the bill.

House Bill 21 by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Kingwood), 85th Legislature, Special Session. The House voted to approve its version of a school finance bill on third reading on Aug. 7, 2017. (Record vote #72. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The Legislature ultimately passed a watered-down Senate version of the bill.

Supported relief from high-stakes testing. Voted for an ATPE-supported bill to extend the Individual Graduation Committees (IGC) law to help qualified high school students graduate in spite of failing a required STAAR test.

Senate Bill 463 by Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. The House voted to approve the bill on third reading and final passage on May 23, 2017. (Record vote #1606. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Supported short-term funding for retired educators' healthcare. Voted for a bill that restructured TRS-Care, the health insurance program for retired teachers. The bill prevented the TRS-Care program from running out of money in 2017 and leaving retired educators without health coverage. ATPE supported the bill.

House Bill 3976 by Rep. Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. The House voted in favor of a motion to concur with Senate amendments, which enabled final passage of the bill, on May 24, 2017. (Record Vote #1770. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Voted for a payroll deduction-related amendment that ATPE opposed. The amendment, which failed to pass, called for a state school finance commission to study whether educators should continue to have access to payroll deduction for their voluntary association dues.

Floor amendment #20 by Rep. Bill Zedler (R-Arlington) to Senate Bill 16 by Sen. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood), 85th Legislature, Special Session. The House voted against the amendment on Aug. 14, 2017. The amendment failed to pass. (Record vote #167. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Supported vouchers. Voted against an amendment that would prevent the state budget bill from being used to fund or support any form of private school voucher. ATPE supported this amendment.

Floor amendment #8 by Rep. Abel Herrero (D-Corpus Christi) to Senate Bill 1 by Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. The House adopted the amendment on April 6, 2017. (Record vote #165. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Supported vouchers. Voted against a budget amendment to clarify that no public funds should be used to pay for or support any type of private school voucher. ATPE requested the amendment.

Floor amendment #9 by Rep. Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston) to Senate Bill 1 by Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. The House adopted the amendment on April 6, 2017. (Record vote #163. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Supported vouchers. Supported a budget amendment that would allow for the possibility of state-funded private school vouchers for certain students. Voted against a motion to table (kill) the amendment. ATPE opposed the amendment and backed the motion to table it.

Motion by Rep. Abel Herrero (D-Corpus Christi) to table floor amendment #10 by Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park) to Senate Bill 1 by Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. Cain tried to amend the budget bill in order to allow for the possibility of state-funded vouchers for low-income students. ATPE opposed the Cain amendment and supported Herrero's motion to table (kill) the amendment. The House voted to table Cain's amendment #10 on April 6, 2017. (Record vote #164. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Supported vouchers. Voted against a motion aimed at keeping private school voucher language out of a school finance bill. ATPE supported the motion.

House Bill 21 by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Kingwood), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. A conference committee was appointed to try to negotiate a compromise between House and Senate versions of a school finance bill. This vote on May 24, 2017, was on an ATPE-supported motion by Rep. John Zerwas (R-Fulshear) to instruct members of that conference committee to reject any language in the bill that would allow private school vouchers. (Record vote #1712. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Supported vouchers. Voted for a motion that would have preserved the possibility of state-funded private school vouchers for students with special needs. ATPE opposed the motion.

House Bill 21 by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Kingwood), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. A conference committee was appointed to try to negotiate a compromise between House and Senate versions of a school finance bill. This vote on May 24, 2017, was on a motion by Rep. Ron Simmons (R-Carrollton) to instruct members of that conference committee to favor language in the bill that would allow private school vouchers for students with special needs. ATPE opposed the motion to instruct, which failed to pass. (Record vote #1713. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Supported measures to improve educator quality. Voted for a bill to establish a mentoring program for inexperienced teachers and state funding for mentor stipends, scheduled release time, and training. ATPE supported the bill, which later died in the Senate.

House Bill 816 by Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. The House approved the bill on third reading on May 11, 2017. (Record vote #1162. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The bill ultimately did not pass the Senate.

Supported measures to improve educator quality. Voted for a bill that would prohibit school districts from assigning elementary school students in core subject classes to inexperienced or uncertified teachers for two consecutive years. ATPE supported the bill.

House Bill 972 by Rep. Helen Giddings (D-Dallas), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. The House approved the bill on third reading on May 6, 2017. (Record vote #954. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The bill later died in the Senate.

Supported "David's Law." Voted for a bill to prevent and address the problem of cyberbullying in schools. ATPE supported the bill.

Senate Bill 179 by Sen. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio), 85th Legislature, Regular Session. The House voted to adopt the conference committee report and finally pass the bill on May 27, 2017. (Record vote #1938. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Voted for a bill to reduce the time spent on state-mandated testing in grades three through eight, shorten the time required for students to complete state tests, and conduct a state study of testing and curriculum standards that are included on the tests. ATPE supported the bill, which passed and was signed into law.

House Bill 743 by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Humble), 84th Legislature, Regular Session. The House voted to approve the bill on third reading on May 4, 2015. (View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Voted for a bill to give some high school students who've failed certain STAAR tests a pathway to graduate. The bill allows individual graduation committees to decide, based on the student's academic record and other measures, if the student is college- and career-ready. ATPE supported the bill, which passed and was signed into law.

Senate Bill 149 by Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo), sponsored in the House by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Humble), 84th Legislature, Regular Session. The House amended and then voted to approve the bill on third reading on April 22, 2015. (View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Voted for a bill to address the epidemic of youth suicide by making available additional training for educators in spotting and responding to the warning signs of suicide. ATPE requested and supported the bill, which passed and was signed into law.

House Bill 2186 by Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana), 84th Legislature, Regular Session. The House voted to approve the bill on third reading on May 7, 2015. (View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Voted for a bill to increase state funding for pre-kindergarten programs that implement certain quality control measures. ATPE supported the bill, which passed and was signed into law.

House Bill 4 by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Humble), 84th Legislature, Regular Session. The House voted to approve a committee substitute version of the bill on third reading on April 9, 2015. (View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Opposed an amendment to a pre-kindergarten bill that would have limited class sizes to no more than 18 students per educator. (Voted for a motion to table the amendment.) ATPE supported the amendment, which was tabled and did not get added to the bill.

Motion to Table House Floor Amendment #12 to House Bill 4 by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Humble), 84th Legislature, Regular Session. Rep. Mary Gonzalez (D-Clint) proposed the amendment to require an 18:1 class-size limit in pre-kindergarten classes, but Rep. Huberty moved to table (kill) the amendment. The House voted to table the Gonzalez amendment on April 8, 2015, via Record Vote #175. (View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Voted for a bill to make it easier for public school districts to be converted to deregulated home rule charter districts that would not be required to maintain salary and employment protections for educators, comply with regulations such as class-size limits, or be held accountable to local voters. ATPE opposed the bill, which failed to pass.

House Bill 1798 by Rep. Joe Deshotel (D-Beaumont), 84th Legislature, Regular Session. The House considered the bill on second reading on May 13, 2015. (Record Vote #1052. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Voted for a budget bill providing increased funding for public education and a partial restoration of the education budget cuts made in 2011.

Senate Bill 1 by Sen. Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands), 83rd Legislature, Regular Session. A conference committee was appointed to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of this primary budget bill. On a motion by Rep. John Pitts (R-Waxahachie), the House voted to adopt the conference committee report May 26, 2013 (record vote 1336).

Voted against an amendment to prohibit public education funds from being spent on private school vouchers.

During the House floor debate on the budget (Senate Bill 1), Rep. Abel Herrero (D-Corpus Christi) offered Amendment #95 to prohibit the use of funds in the public education budget for private school vouchers. The House voted to adopt the Herrero amendment April 4, 2013 (record vote 169).

Originally voted for a teacher quality bill to raise the standards for entering the education profession; require districts to provide appraisal results to teachers in a timely manner and consider multiple years' appraisal results in making personnel decisions; and require the state to conduct a survey of teacher working conditions and salaries. He later recorded a statement in the House journal that he intended to vote against the bill.

House Bill 2012 by Rep. Mike Villarreal (D-San Antonio), 83rd Legislature, Regular Session. A conference committee was appointed to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of this bill. On a motion by Rep. Villarreal, the House voted to adopt the conference committee report May 26, 2013 (record vote 1318).

Voted for creating the Texas Teacher Residency Program, a high-quality university program through which new teachers would receive stipends and employment at a school district or charter school while earning a master's degree.

House Bill 1752 by Rep. Diane Patrick (R-Arlington), 83rd Legislature, Regular Session. After the Senate made changes to the House version of the bill, the House voted on a motion by Rep. Patrick to concur in (accept) the Senate amendments to the bill May 21, 2013 (record vote 1031).

Opposed an amendment to the Achievement School District bill to require ASD schools to be subject to laws pertaining to teacher rights and benefits, discipline and class-size limits. (Voted for the motion to table the amendment.)

Senate Bill 1718 by Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas), 83rd Legislature, Regular Session. During the House floor debate on this bill that called for creating an "Achievement School District" for certain low-performing schools, Rep. Chris Turner (D-Arlington) offered Amendment #2 to require ASD schools to remain subject to laws pertaining to teacher rights and benefits, discipline and class-size limits. On a motion by Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston), the House voted to table (kill) the Turner amendment May 21, 2013 (record vote 1044).

Opposed an amendment to impose a maximum 15:1 student-to-certified teacher average ratio within the proposed Achievement School District for certain low-performing schools. (Voted to table the amendment.)

Senate Bill 1718 by Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas), 83rd Legislature, Regular Session. During the House floor debate on this bill that called for creating an "Achievement School District" for certain low-performing schools, Rep. Diane Patrick (R-Arlington) offered Amendment #7 to require ASD schools to assign no more than 15 students on average to each certified teacher. On a motion by Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston), the House voted to table (kill) the Patrick amendment May 21, 2013 (record vote 1046).

Voted against a bill to require schools to notify the public if a full-time school counselor is not assigned to the campus.

Senate Bill 401 by Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. (D-Brownsville), 83rd Legislature, Regular Session. A conference committee was appointed to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of this bill requiring public notice when a full-time school counselor is not assigned to a public school campus. Rep. Alma Allen (D-Houston) moved adoption of the conference committee report. The bill died in the House when the motion to adopt the conference committee report failed May 26, 2013 (record vote 1372).